After getting married, she spent every night alone in her room; when she asked for a divorce, he kne

As soon as you step across the threshold, a warm feeling mixed with the elegant fragrance of agarwood wafts over you.

The entire inn is spacious and airy, with four thick, vermilion-lacquered pillars painted with gold cloud patterns, and the floor is paved with fine, polished blue bricks that are so shiny they reflect light.

Inside, round pearwood tables and armchairs are arranged in a staggered pattern, each table covered with brocade cloth and equipped with celadon wine cups and silver chopsticks. Carved nanmu wood partitions divide the space into semi-private areas, with light blue gauze curtains hanging down, creating a sense of privacy.

In the corner stood a three-legged gilded incense burner, from which wisps of smoke rose. A waiter, dressed in a short blue silk jacket and a silver belt, carried a food box and moved about among the crowd, his steps light and steady.

"What a magnificent inn!"

Ying'er, carrying a large pile of food, exclaimed as soon as she entered the inn, "This looks just as good as our manor!"

Liu Yuansheng didn't seem to care about any of this, and Xiao Jinghan remained indifferent, simply telling the waiter he wanted a superior room.

The waiter enthusiastically led the way, taking the two to the second floor. The second floor consisted of private, elegant rooms, each with a soft curtain embroidered with flowers and birds hanging from the door. Pushing open the door, they found a thick white wool carpet, a tribute from the Western Regions, on the floor, making no sound underfoot. Beside the window was a large pear wood table, displaying an official kiln celadon vase, an inkstone, and a writing brush. A low table to one side always kept warm with aged wine and freshly brewed tea before the rain.

These superior guest rooms are comparable to those of a wealthy family's mansion, with two rooms in one entrance: an outer room for entertaining guests and an inner room for sleeping. The canopy bed is draped with a gilded dragon and phoenix brocade canopy, the hooks of which are decorated with gilded intertwined branches. The bedding is all made of Jiangnan tribute satin, soft and warm. The dragon-shaped lamp in the corner of the room is kept warm, so it doesn't feel cold in the cold winter, and an ice box is usually placed there for cooling in the summer.

A carved dressing table is placed by the window, displaying a bronze mirror, jade hairpins, and cosmetics. A separate washroom is set up next to it, equipped with a brass basin and scented soap. An antique shelf stands in the corner, filled with jade and porcelain ornaments. Books and fragrant tea are always kept on the desk. A separate corridor is located in the courtyard, and the windows offer views of artificial hills and flowers, creating a quiet and elegant atmosphere.

"Esteemed guests, is this room suitable for you?" the waiter asked, bowing slightly.

"Hmm, not bad," Xiao Jinghan said. "Go downstairs and prepare some soft and easy-to-digest midnight snacks to bring up."

"Yes."

The waiter quietly closed the door and left. Liu Yuansheng walked around the room, then sat down in a chair and said, "What a magnificent inn."

"If it's not magnificent, how can it be worthy of the name 'Phoenix Arrives'?" Xiao Jinghan walked to Liu Yuansheng's side. "Are you tired? I'll have Ying'er come in and help you wash up. Rest now."

"And what about the Crown Prince?" Liu Yuansheng asked.

"I'm not sleepy," Xiao Jinghan said. "Didn't I just rest for a while in the carriage?"

"Yes," Liu Yuansheng said, "Then please proceed, Your Highness."

"Okay." Xiao Jinghan patted Liu Yuansheng's shoulder, looked at her deeply through the bronze mirror, and then said abruptly, "Can you still sleep? Should you take some sleeping pills?"

Liu Yuansheng's mind was in turmoil, sometimes recalling the details of her life at Shuiyue Nunnery, sometimes thinking about what happened after her reunion with Jiang Zhihuan. In short, her mind wasn't on Xiao Jinghan at all. Caught off guard by his question, she was taken aback and asked, "What did you say?"

Xiao Jinghan looked at the absent-minded Liu Yuansheng with a half-smile, and said with a smile, "It's nothing."

He gently pressed on Liu Yuansheng's shoulder. "Go and rest."

Liu Yuansheng stood stiffly.

The moment Xiao Jinghan released her shoulder, her body swayed forward. By the time she realized what had happened and looked at the door, Xiao Jinghan had already closed it and left.

The third watch of the night had passed, and the entire long street had fallen silent. The huge inn had completely shed its daytime clamor. Of the many glass palace lanterns, only two or three flickering candles remained, their dim yellow light barely licking the gilded beams and pillars, leaving most of the hall shrouded in deep shadow.

The innkeeper was nowhere to be found, and the waiter leisurely wiped the tables and chairs, humming a cheerful tune.

Three people had appeared at the round table on the north side of the inn's main entrance.

One of them had an ethereal, otherworldly air about him; he was slender and dressed in flowing white robes.

One of them was a transvestite with a stunningly beautiful face, making it difficult to tell whether she was male or female.

The man was burly, with a large and thick build, and extremely clumsy.

Seeing his three subordinates, Xiao Jinghan sighed deeply.

Then he walked over to the three of them.

Jiang Yue was sleeping with her sword in her arms when she heard Xiao Jinghan's footsteps and suddenly opened her eyes.

Jiang Hua, who was dyeing her nails with balsam flowers, glanced at him and said, "So fast? You haven't taken the medicine Doctor Wen gave you?"

Jiang Xue's eyes were fixed on the food Ying'er had casually placed on the table, her mouth watering. "Boss, can I eat all this food on the table?"

Xiao Jinghan lifted his foot, pulled back the bench, and sat down. "Eat, you can eat."

"Thanks, Boss!"

Xiao Jinghan scoffed, "Where's Xu Shi? Why isn't he with you?"

"He went to see Doctor Wen to fix his tongue." Jiang Xue unwrapped an oil paper package, took out a large pork knuckle, and took a big bite. "Ah, delicious!"

"Quickly write a letter to your brother and tell him to tell Doctor Wen to prescribe medicine for the eldest again, because the last one didn't work!" Jiang Xue said while admiring her red fingernails.

Xiao Jinghan glanced at him. "Medicine? What medicine?"

"What else could it be? Medicine to cure your illness, right?" Jiang Hua glanced up at the second floor and said, "You've only been here for a short while, do you think this girl would fall in love with you?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinghan kicked Jiang Hua away. Jiang Hua took the opportunity to leap up and land lightly on the next table, where she sat down, humming a little tune, and began to paint his toenails.

"You're meddling in other people's business. My reputation has been ruined by the three of you."

Jiang Yue remained silent, while Jiang Xue happily ate her braised pork knuckle; neither of them took Xiao Jinghan's words to heart.

Xiao Jinghan sighed again and held out his hand, saying, "Take the things out."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue ended her long silence and placed a letter in Xiao Jinghan's hand.

If you look closely, this letter is exactly the same as the one that Abbess Jing'an gave to Liu Yuansheng.

The letter in Jiang Yue's hand is the original; the one Master Jing'an gave to Liu Yuansheng was just a copy.

Ever since Xiao Jinghan learned that Jiang Zhihuan was the one who pushed Lu Wei to the brink of death, he had been keeping a close eye on him. Except for not seeing him kill Cao Tong's family with his own eyes, almost nothing he did could escape his notice.

The meeting with Liu Yuansheng was no exception.

Knowing this, he agreed to Liu Yuansheng's request without hesitation and brought her over.

He was also very curious about how Liu Yuansheng would choose between him and Jiang Zhihuan, and what she would do.

Filled with curiosity, along with a strange tension and anticipation, Xiao Jinghan opened the letter.

The contents of the letter made him somewhat uncomfortable, but after patiently reading it through, he let out a cold laugh.

He thought Jiang Zhihuan had come up with some brilliant plan, but it turned out he just wanted to use Liu Yuansheng to help him deal with him.

Was it because he had driven Jiang Zhihuan to the brink of despair? He wanted to help Jin Gongzheng out of his predicament, but couldn't think of a way.

He must be very troubled.

Right.

Jiang Zhihuan was probably just that useless; otherwise, how could he have watched He Manniang escape death without realizing it, and then allowed her to be used by the Yuan family, almost killing Liu Yuansheng?

"They say even a rabbit will bite when cornered. I'd like to see what this seemingly harmless rabbit, Jiang Zhihuan, can do."

Xiao Jinghan lit the letter on the candle and asked, "Where did Jin Gongzheng go?"

Jiang Yue: "Xuzhou."

"Xuzhou?" Xiao Jinghan lightly rubbed the last wisp of ashes between his fingers. "What's he doing in Xuzhou?"

"Go and find the Crown Prince and his children."

The moment the words left his mouth, Xiao Jinghan's eyes sharpened. The slightly lazy corners of his eyes tightened instantly, his gaze sharp as a drawn blade, the faint smile vanished, and a layer of gloom and solemnity settled in his eyes.

He slightly lowered his chin, his gaze fixed on one spot, and even the surrounding air seemed to quiet down with his sudden serious expression, losing all trace of his usual casualness.

"Did he go to see Li Chengye?"

"Um."

Xiao Jinghan squinted and subconsciously touched the jade thumb ring on his right thumb.

The old thumb ring was broken, and the new thumb ring gleamed with an exceptionally sharp and unstoppable light. Xiao Jinghan couldn't help but recall the scene from several years ago when he met Li Chengye in a dilapidated courtyard. That was only the second time in his life that he had felt such excruciating pain.

Li Chengye was the son of Li Zhaolin, the Crown Prince of Qingyuan.

When Li Zhaolin was wiped out along with the Chiling Army, Li Chengye was still young. He managed to escape the palace with the help of palace servants and guards, and survived at the hands of Li Zhaoxi.

Although she survived, she went insane due to excessive shock. She was only lucid for a few days each month, and when she was lucid, she would burst into tears and denounce the injustice and cruelty of the world.

When they go crazy, they laugh and joke, forgetting all their pain, as innocent and carefree as children.

But few people in the world know that Li Chengye is still alive and has a son.

But Li Zhaoxi found out.

Not only did they find out, they also wanted to send someone to kill him.

I will never feel at ease if I don't kill him.

"Boss, why aren't you saying anything? Are you upset by your brother-in-law?" Jiang Hua lightly jumped off the round table, walked barefoot to Xiao Jinghan, and asked.

Jiang Xue snorted, threw the bone she had finished gnawing on the ground, picked up a roast chicken and continued gnawing on it. "This is all the dog emperor's scheme. On the surface, he wants to deal with Jin Gongzheng, forcing Jin Gongzheng to run away from home. In reality, he sent him out to find the descendants of the Crown Prince of Qingyuan, wanting to eliminate them completely."

"Should we kill him?" Jiang Hua asked.

"Don't act yet," Xiao Jinghan said. "Now is not the best time to act. If they really find out something, and we kill someone, it will leak that information prematurely, which would be troublesome."

Jiang Hua nodded. "Understood. We'll be going now. Jiang Xue, stop eating."

Jiang Xue had half a roast chicken in her mouth and couldn't let go of it. Just then, Ying'er walked in carrying a rag doll. Seeing Jiang Xue eating her food, she stormed over and said angrily, "Who told you to eat my food?"

Ying'er was extremely possessive of her food, and when she spoke, her voice was incredibly loud. She successfully intimidated Jiang Xue and the others, and then went to Xiao Jinghan to complain, "Young Master, he stole my food."

After saying that, she glared at Jiang Xue with a mixture of grievance and anger.

Jiang Xue, her mouth slightly open, silently put down the roast chicken in her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't know I couldn't eat it."

Ying'er pouted and sized up Jiang Xue, finding her increasingly familiar. "What's your relationship with that mute stone man?"

"What stone is mute?"

"Xu Shi," Jiang Yue said.

"Oh, Xu Shi," Jiang Xue chuckled. "That's my younger brother."

Ying'er rolled her eyes at Jiang Xue, cleared away all the food on the table, and pushed the roast chicken that Jiang Xue had silently placed on the table away, saying, "Here, take this. I don't want it."

Jiang Xue readily accepted it, "Then I'll continue eating!"

Ying'er went upstairs to the second floor in a huff.

"That maid is quite interesting," Jiang Hua said to Jiang Xue, watching Ying'er's departing figure. "She's a perfect match for you; all you know how to do is eat!"

"Match, match, match! All you know is 'match'! Give some to the boss too..."

"Alright!" Xiao Jinghan snapped at the two of them. "Go and get on with your business."

After saying that, he got up and left...

-

In the bedroom on the second floor, Liu Yuansheng was half asleep and half awake, struggling through a series of nightmares.

In my dream, blood spread across the sky, and in the former Prime Minister's mansion, cold blades clashed, and rebukes echoed in my ears.

In front of Xitou Village, villagers pointed at her nose and berated her, calling her lewd and shameless.

She stood alone in the boundless, cold fog, with no one to rely on. Fear crept up her body and into her heart. She wanted to scream, but her throat felt like it was being choked, and she couldn't utter a sound. She could only watch helplessly as the cold shadows approached step by step.

Suddenly she trembled violently, her eyelashes fluttered, a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and the bedding was crumpled in her hands.

Her lips trembled unconsciously, and soft, suppressed sobs escaped from her throat. Her body curled up into a small ball, and even though she was trapped in a nightmare, her brows were still filled with an unyielding fear and sorrow.

wake up.

wake up.

She told herself to wake up quickly, that as long as she could open her eyes, she could escape this endless nightmare, but she just couldn't wake up.

Suddenly, something pressed down on her, as light as a feather, yet it rendered her completely immobile.

She was terrified. With a struggle, she finally broke free from the force, opened her eyes, and gasped for breath.

Her slightly reddened eyes still held the lingering fear from her nightmare. A tightness gripped her chest, and it took her a long time to recover from the suffocating panic. Her shallow, labored breathing was exceptionally clear in the quiet inn room.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Suddenly, a lazy, husky male voice came from beside her. Liu Yuansheng shuddered, "Who is it?"

She hugged the quilt tightly and looked down at the bedside, only to see Xiao Jinghan lying on it in his undergarments.

His eyelids drooped slightly, the long, narrow corners of his eyes hanging loosely, the once intimidating cold light completely concealed beneath the heavy shadows of his eyelashes, devoid of any sharpness. His dark eyebrows were completely relaxed, no longer tightly furrowed and cold as usual, but exuding a gentle weariness.

Her high, delicate nose was bathed in the hazy moonlight, casting a soft, pale shadow. Her thin lips were loosely parted, tinged with a warm, pale blush.

A weariness filled his eyes and brows, making him appear relaxed and docile. His naturally handsome features, combined with his unguarded and languid demeanor, were so gentle that they stirred the heart.

"It's you?" Liu Yuansheng asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Xiao Jinghan sighed weakly. "Where else would I be? Sleeping in another woman's bed? Would you be happy with that?"

Liu Yuansheng was speechless after being rebuked.

But something still felt off.

Ever since she married Xiao Jinghan, she has spent every night alone in her room.

Later, their relationship improved slightly, and Xiao Jinghan rested on the daybed in her room several times.

This time, he lay down next to her without making a sound.

So what's the next step?

Liu Yuansheng simply couldn't believe it.